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Monday, October 8, 2012

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Soup

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Soup

It's now Balloon Fiesta here in New Mexico. We don't go to the Balloon Fiesta very often, but it's something I look
forward to every year. The skies are beautiful and, for me, is the
official start of fall. It's kind of funny how the weather turns as soon as the Balloon Fiesta comes around each year. Right on schedule, the mornings have gotten a lot more crisp and the evenings are getting darker earlier. As soon as it does, I want to pull out my scarves and eat chile and stew and all those wonderful fall comfort foods. It's my favorite time of year!

Green chile chicken soup is one of my favorite things to eat. It's a year-around thing for me. And our hospital cafeteria actually makes some killer green chile chicken soup, though it's very simple and nothing fancy. It's served every Tuesday and for awhile I was walking over and getting a bowl every week. I'm on the search for the recipe like the one at work. Once I find it, I'm making it and sharing it.

This recipe is different than the one at work because it's more creamy. The recipe calls for cream cheese and half and half, so it's a very rich soup. I love the extra little something the cream cheese gives to the soup and it complements the chicken and the green chile perfectly.

I originally found this recipe in one of my cookbooks, but changed it so that it uses already cooked meat instead of making your own stock and cooking the chicken. I also halved the recipe and added some more seasoning, which is reflected below. This makes about 4-5 servings, so if you want more, you can double the recipe. I actually might do that myself!

Happy New Mexico fall with lots of love and green chile. :-)

PS - How is it that my pictures look good on one computer and then drab on another!

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about a minute, until fragrant. Add chicken stock, raise heat and bring to a boil.

When stock is boiling, remove 1/2 c. of broth and let it cool. To the boiling broth, add shredded chicken and green chile.

After reserved broth is cool, add 1 Tbs. of flour to it and whisk until well blended. Add the flour mixture back into the boiling broth and mix well. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

In a small bowl, add the cream cheese. Gradually add the half and half, whisking constantly. This is so the mixture won't be as clumpy when you add it to the soup; if it's a little clumpy, don't worry because it will end up melting into the soup.

Add the cream cheese mixture gradually into the soup, whisking constantly. When cream cheese mixture is added, reduce the heat to a simmer then add in the rest of your powdered spices (garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper).

Simmer the soup for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the soup thickens. Do not boil.

I made this with a few adjustments. I used olive oil instead of canola oil. 4 cups of chicken stock instead of 3. A whole rotisserie chicken and a 12 oz. can of evaporated milk instead of half and half. I also ommitted the garlic powder and onion powder since it's not in the recipe anywhere and I didn't think it was needed with the fresh garlic and onion. It came out delcious!!

Hi, Renee. I thought it was interesting today that while I was making this green chile creamy chicken soup, my husband asked me to pull up his favorite tortilla recipe on the kitchen computer, which was also yours! Actually, it's your grandma's.My husband was born and raised in Colorado on the border of New Mexico and I've only ever lived in California. Him being Spanish, Mexican, and "other", raised with native american's and me being Mexican and Italian, you can only imagine how much we love and value cooking together! We buy 200 - 300 lbs of Hatch, New Mexico chile every summer and freeze it.Tonight, wanting something creamy and hearty I found this recipe. I did double the recipe (because I have a house full of people), used whipping cream instead of half & half (because it's what we had), and added three small diced potatoes. OMG! My husband had three bowls! We thought it was one of the most amazing "chowders" we've ever had! Of course we were dipping the tortillas in the soup––my four year old rolled them out so they're contribution to dinner.Thanks for this and your grandma's tortillas! We'll be enjoying this one for years!

I think this recipe is to DIE for! I did the following modifications however - I boiled my own chicken instead of buying rotissere that way- I could save the chicken stock afterwards and just use it for the soup. I also used fat free half and half and reduced fat cream cheese. It is delicious. I will be making this a lot in the future cold months. :)

I don't think it does because of the cream cheese, but that's just my opinion. I've been working on another recipe for the past three years that I think trumps all other versions that I've seen! I'm hoping to post it soon as chile season is here!

Making this recipe right now in Boise, ID! Green chile is what I miss most about NM, too bad I can't find Hatch green chile here. This is very good, rich soup that I made once last fall and loved it! Quick, easy, and totally delish.